US mission stops visas, cuts staff

Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, April 13 – The US mission in Kathmandu, in order to scale back its activities – including at the embassy, USAID and the consular section and American Center at Yak & Yeti Hotel – has gone to minimal staffing, a statement issued by the American Center said here Wednesday.With the closure of the consular section until further notice, no one will be issued a visa. An American Center source said that the exercise for this was going on for the past few days. Similarly, the American Center library has also been closed until further notice.

 Meanwhile, the US mission canceled a planned visit Wednesday by an eight-member delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives "due to ongoing violence, curfews, and widespread insecurity in Nepal".

The delegation, led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, J Dennis Hastert (R-IL), wanted to visit Kathmandu Wednesday till Friday to review developments here and meet representatives of the government, political parties and civil society.

The Congressional delegation, currently in India, is also scheduled to visit Vietnam.